Drover’s Stock Dog Journal…

Today the sheep went to the neighbor’s field across from us and got into the field with their cows. While this makes no sense to me…There was no grass there and there is plenty grass at home! And they joined the cows! Really!

Kay and I had made a quick grocery store run…as we came to the open gate she said oh no now what!  We parked and unloaded and as she walked in the house I heard her so Oh NO!

Well Les had taken BOO and ( BOO is a great driver) but he could not get to the sheep…Les is going in for back surgery Wednesday so if it can’t be done from the gator well then it is a problem. And I got to say driving sheep from a strange pasture at a distance of 300 feet is difficult at best…And add the fact that Les can’t walk very far and has no business walking!  Lets just say it is like driving a rope into an oak board! IMPOSSIBLE!!!!

Kay and I started over to the field and met Les in the driveway …He was mad at the sheep. Kay sent him on to the house! Mad and a bad back now that cannot be a good combo!

We went to the neighbors fence and there is a four wheel trail round it and we followed that. Kay would not allow me to go in and gather the sheep and bring them out thru the fence (3 strands of hot wire)…I am guessing Kay did not know if that super hot fence was on or not!  We made our way to the barn and the sheep and the cows followed us…

Lets talk Big Black Bold cows! I did not like em! Made me worry a bit…

Kay and I went through the old woven wire and barbed wire fence. Kay got her self stuck on the barbs and I went through a hole in the fence…The cows had a pen there at the barn . Kay ran up with Todd the neighbor.. Informed him on our problem…Then Todd said we could lock the cows up in the paddock…Well that would be easy and helpful…

So Kay left me at the gate and proceeded to get the last cow up…He was a very unfriendly BULL! (the reason she left me at the far gate was the cows were not dog broke and wanted to chase Me! She did not want to cause all the cows that were up to leave and come after me then I would have come towards her and then …)

Kay walked up to the gate the Bull was standing on the other side of…She walked in straight lines around the bull…She was to close in his space and he charged her!  She stopped and he stopped…(Kay was thinking that fence is not too far and just how she would dive through it if necessary) Latter I overheard Kay say she doubted that fence would have held that bull off of her…She waited and the Bull waited and then he walked in to where the cows were! Ta Da!

Les let me out of the cow pen and I joined Kay in the field to gather the sheep.

Now this was a real job and not easy at all…I brought part of the sheep as I could get them to come…Kay waited at the gate and when I had all the sheep with her…We started thru the gate but the sheep were crazy for grass. It was a job to herd the sheep from the gate to the sheep pens…We had to go through a green grass field…Finally we got the job done. Talk about getting the sheep off a draw! Kay said I did real good!

We herded the sheep through the woods and into the pens…I was hot and thirsty!  So were the sheep!

All in a Shepherd Dogs Day at work! 🙂

Ashton Creek Photography